Guest Opinion: Lead by being — not doing

Jann Freed, Ph.D., is a leadership development and change management consultant at The Genysys Group.

After interviewing more than 100 “sages” for my book “Leading With Wisdom: Sage Advice From 100 Experts,” one of the strongest themes that emerged was the value of practicing mindfulness. According to Michael Carroll, author of “The Mindful Leader,” “mindfulness is our natural ability to remember that we are here, present fully in our life — alert, open and engaged.” This is important, because research continues to support the fact that nearly two–thirds of U.S. employees are not fully engaged in their work and are less productive as a result. And if leaders are not “awake,” it is likely they are not aware of what is going on around them.

Carroll told me that leaders should “lead by achieving nothing.” He said that leaders use their effort and ambition focused on getting from point A to point B. “We are always trying to get somewhere (i.e. promotions and climb the ladder) and we want to get there fast,” he said. “And when we get there, we want to be someone else — smarter, thinner, richer, more successful. In the process, we overlook how to be somewhere and how to be who we are and where we are — comfortable in our own skin.”

Research on mindfulness meditation indicates that instruction is being offered as a leadership development discipline at places such as Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Companies such as Google Inc., General Mills Inc., Aetna Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. are all exploring how meditation can help leadership and employees survive and thrive in the current business environment. Carroll calls mindful meditation “the secret sauce for preserving our sanity as we ride into the frenetic hyper-connected 21st century. It’s about learning to achieve nothing.”

This way of thinking — achieving nothing — contradicts what we normally think. But Carroll explains it this way to leaders: “You wouldn’t be where you are in your career if you weren’t good at getting stuff done. So for you to develop as a truly distinctive leader, we will need to focus less on what you do for a living and focus more on what you see for a living.”

When we understand the wisdom of not achieving as an important perspective, we start to ask questions such as:• What are the two main challenges your colleagues face at work?• What are the most important unspoken messages you are receiving from your employees, customers or vendors?• What are people afraid of in your organization?• Can you describe what inspires your direct reports?

Carroll says these questions “require a form of wisdom beyond doing, accomplishing and achieving. They require us to discern, recognize and understand. ... We need to drop our ambition to get somewhere and instead completely be where we are – being open, curious and skillful.”

Most leadership training focuses on learning the competencies and developing the capabilities to lead. Maybe the most important skill to learn is to lead by being — not trying to achieve.

Trying to be calm and clear, to be aware of ourselves and others, and to be fully present in each moment is easier said than done. But give yourself permission to achieve nothing. Just be.

Jann Freed, Ph.D., is a leadership development and change management consultant at The Genysys Group.